Falcons send Lions to second straight loss

Ryan went just 20-of-34 for 218 yards and two interceptions, and added
a rushing touchdown for the Falcons (4-3), who have won consecutive games
for the first time this season.

"It's a good football team over there and we knew we were going to have to put
forth our best effort to come out of here with the win," said Ryan. "We gutted
it out today and that's what you have to do when you're on the road."

Michael Turner carried the ball 27 times for 122 yards while White finished
the game with five catches for 52 yards, along with the 18-yard score late in
the first half.

Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez caught five balls for 62 yards and his fourth
catch of the game, a two-yard grab during the drive that saw White score, was
the 1,103rd of his career, moving him past Marvin Harrison for second all-time
on the NFL reception list.

"I've played with a bunch of good quarterbacks in my career and they deserve
more of the credit for my success than anything I've ever done," said Gonzalez
of the record. "But, I never dreamed I could accomplish something like this
when I first started out."

Matthew Stafford passed for 183 yards and a score on 15-of-32 attempts while
Calvin Johnson caught his 10th touchdown pass of the season and finished the
game with five catches for 115 yards for the Lions (5-2), who have dropped
their past two after starting the season with five straight wins.

"When we look at the game tomorrow we're going to talk about missed
opportunities," said Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz. "We had our chances on
offense, defense and special teams today, but we didn't take advantage of
them."

The game saw sloppy play on both sides of the ball as there was a total of 21
penalties for 164 yards, with Atlanta flagged 11 times.

Trailing by 11 points, Detroit finally got the big play it had been looking
for when Stafford used a fake end around to find Johnson over the middle and
the big receiver broke a tackle on his way to a 57-yard score to make it a
20-16 game with 1:57 to go in the third quarter.

A 50-yard run down the right sideline by Turner got the ball to the Detroit
20, but Ryan was picked off by Amari Spievey on the first play of the fourth
quarter.

Detroit was unable to move the chains and had to punt, giving Atlanta the ball
back at the Detroit 47. Nine plays later, Matt Bryant put the ball through the
uprights from 40 yards out for a 23-16 lead with 8:41 to play.

The Lions were forced to a three-and-out and eventually forced a punt from
Atlanta, but only after the Falcons had run off over four minutes of the
clock.

Johnson caught a 19-yard pass on the first play. Later in the drive, after a
Brandon Pettigrew seven-yard completion, a personal foul call by Atlanta on
fourth down moved the ball past midfield.

On 3rd-and-10, Stafford threw a pass to Tony Scheffler that fell incomplete,
but pass interference was called on Atlanta. However, a replay was called and
it showed that the ball had been tipped by a defender before reaching
Shceffler, negating the pass interference call.

The fourth down pass fell incomplete and Atlanta killed off the rest of the
clock after getting a first down and forcing Detroit to burn all its timeouts.

Stafford was hurt on his final play as an Atlanta defender fell on his leg and
the quarterback limped off the field. The extent of the injury is unknown, but
Stafford said he was feeling fine.

"The guy fell on me a little bit awkward," Stafford said. "I'm moving around
okay right now, so we'll see."

The first points of the game went to Detroit courtesy of a turnover as Eric
Wright picked off Ryan and took the ball down to the Atlanta 15. However,
Stafford was sacked on consecutive plays and the team had to settle for a 43-
yard field goal from Jason Hanson with 10:26 left in the first.

Eric Weems returned the ensuing kickoff 104 yards into the end zone, but it
was called back on an illegal block penalty and Atlanta eventually punted.

Detroit got nowhere and had to punt, with Weems returning this one 37 yards to
the Detroit 26 with no flags. However, the Falcons were unable to take full
advantage of the short field and a 23-yard field goal from Bryant tied the
game with 3:01 left in the first.

On the kickoff, Detroit was stopped at the 11, but an offsides call forced
Atlanta to kick again. This time, Stefan Logan fumbled the ball and the
Falcons recovered the ball at the Detroit 28.

A 15-yard catch from White on 3rd-and-12 moved the chains and a pass
interference call moved the ball to the one. Ryan kept the ball himself to
make it a 10-3 game in the final seconds of the first quarter.

Detroit answered with a nine-play march that covered 50 yards, but the drive
stalled at the Atlanta 20 and a 38-yard field goal from Hanson made it a 10-6
game.

Following an exchange of punts, Atlanta had the ball at its own 19 and
following a first down, Gonzalez caught a pass for 30 yards to get the ball
across midfield. Turner followed with a 19-yard catch and two plays later,
Ryan lofted a pass to the right corner that saw White come up with the over-
the-shoulder catch for an 18-yard score and a 17-6 lead with 25 seconds left
in the half.

On its second touch of the third quarter, Detroit started a drive near
midfield and Maurice Morris took the ball 31 yards down to the Atlanta six.
However, the drive stopped there and Hanson lined up for a 34-yard field goal,
which was blocked but an offside call on Atlanta gave him another chance and
he put the 29-yard attempt through the uprights to make it a 17-9 game with
7:37 to play in the third.

Atlanta benefited from a 49-yard catch by Harry Douglas on its next
possession that saw Bryant cap the drive with a 47-yard field goal for a 20-9
lead.

Game Notes

Ryan left the game briefly in the third quarter with a left leg injury, but
returned to play...White has caught a pass in 75 straight games...Johnson has
caught a pass in every game he has played...Jerry Rice is first on the all-
time reception list with 1,549 catches...Atlanta has off next week while
Detroit will play in Denver...Atlanta has won three of the last four games
against Detroit. However, the Lions lead the all-time series, 23-11...Stafford
had a stretch of at least two touchdown passes a game snapped at eight
games...Morris had nine rushes for 50 yards...Atlanta rookie wide receiver
Julio Jones missed the game with a hamstring injury.